A Nero Wolfe Mystery (TV Series) Champagne for One: Part 1 (2001) User Reviews

Excellent Adaptation

[kdm042 · 9/10 · 2 June 2001]

Congratulations to the Arts & Entertainment cable network for bringing Nero Wolfe to television! The series faithfully reproduces the sensibilities and characterizations of Rex Stout's novels. The folks behind this story ("Champagne for One") and all of the episodes aired to date have studied their source material well.

Performances in "Champagne for One" are excellent. I especially enjoyed the interplay between Archie Goodwin and the matron... She made me believe she hated him to the core of her being.

If you like Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe novel series, you owe it to yourself to watch this show!

A great show for true Nero Wolfe fans.

[judyabr · 8 June 2001]

Anyone who has not read the eighty-six Nero Wolfe novels of Rex Stout might not appreciate the eye for detail given to this series. But almost everything, from the red leather chair and yellow sofa in the office, to Archie's milk and Wolfe's ever-present beer, could have been scripted by Rex Stout himself. The best part of the adaptation is the Archie Goodwin character, who is exactly as this Nero Wolfe fan would imagine him to be. As someone who generally finds fault with movie and/or TV adaptations of books (especially of books I like), this series has been one of the pleasantest surprises I have seen on TV in a long time.

The Art of Repartee

[faterson · 6/10 · 4 February 2012]

_Champagne for One_ is, I believe, one of the weakest novels in the classic Nero Wolfe murder-mystery series. It would, therefore, seem like an odd choice for the film-makers to select as one of the first Wolfe movies to include in the much-loved A&E TV series. However, the result does not disappoint; there is always the opportunity, when the literary source is of only mediocre quality, to exceed the book source in the way it is transposed to the screen; and that is exactly what happens here in the TV version of _Champagne for One_. Whereas the book is *not* enjoyable throughout, and is in fact in some places tiresome and the novel seems overlong -- that is decidedly not the case here in the TV version; it is brisk and fast-paced and enjoyable throughout the short run-time of not even 90 minutes.

Of course, Rex Stout's greatest weakness as a writer of murder mysteries is highlighted here in _Champagne for One_ as well: and that is his (murder-themed) plotting and dénouement; a true master of that skill, like Dame Agatha Christie, would slap their forehead at the far-fetched and anything but convincing dénouement that is presented to us here in _Champagne for One_; it's as if Rex Stout tried hard to make Nero Wolfe like Hercule Poirot, yet fails miserably in that endeavour.

Yet this does not matter at all in the Wolfean universe; that is because Rex Stout's focus is quite elsewhere: it's on that Wolfean universe, the great cast of leading characters and the interplay among them. There is great chemistry between Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as his assistant Archie Goodwin; the two men are purposefully depicted by Stout as each other's antithesis, even while being the closest confederates, and this antagonism combined with association and mutual dependence is excellently highlighted and portrayed in _Champagne for One_.

The dialogue in this TV version is very witty -- no wonder, since due to the movie's very short run-time, the screen-writers could pick and choose only the wittiest, juiciest bits of dialogue from the original book, while (it seems to me) also adding quite a few chunks of funny dialogue of their own making, fully in tune with the characters.

Hutton is pitch-perfect as Archie Goodwin. Chaykin is not the ideal portrayal of Nero Wolfe -- he seems much too mobile (both in terms of his body and facial mimicry) compared to the more stolid Wolfe of the books, and he also shouts and bawls too much, and seems to get too excited and infuriated over every trifle every five minutes of the movie; yet Chaykin's delivery of some of the classic Nero Wolfe lines and moments is masterful, so the other inaccuracies can easily be forgiven and forgotten.

The direction by Timothy Hutton this time around is adequate, unlike in the foregoing, disappointing _The Doorbell Rang_ where the characters' mannerisms got the upper hand and resulted in a dissatisfactory viewing experience that seemed too artificial, contrived to produce comical effects at all costs.

As always, in _Champagne for One_ as well, I regretted the film-makers' decision to turn Fritz the master chef into a one-dimensional "funny character" intended to provide comic relief; in the Rex Stout books, Fritz definitely does not fulfil that role; Fritz may be flustered and old-fashioned, but there is rarely anything comical about him in the books (he is rather drab and indistinctive in the books, in fact), whereas in the TV series, Colin Fox is playing Fritz's role straight (too straight!) for the laughs, which I find distracting in every instalment. It is a sign of lack of confidence on the film-makers' part if they need to resort to the character of Fritz to inject humour into the narration; that's because in the original books, all the wit and humour that the reader may need, is provided within the brilliant first-person narration by Archie Goodwin. Of course, first-person narration is extremely difficult to transfer from a book to the screen without any loss, and that is probably why -- to compensate for the loss of Archie's witty first-person narration -- the film-makers chose to turn Fritz into a clown; I for one am not too happy about this choice.

On the other hand, some of the other repertory actors shine in _Champagne for One_, particularly Kari Matchett as a depraved, seductive suspect, and the deliciously ever-growling Bill Smitrovich as Inspector Cramer; his role here is small and short, but incisive and memorable indeed. The movie also features great costumes, great 1950s period detail, and a very nice jazzy sound-track.

Good renditions of Nero Wolfe

[jefu · 9 June 2001]

This series of A&E productions is turning out quite nicely. As a long time Nero Wolfe reader, I must say that Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin and Maury Chaikin as Nero Wolfe would probably make Rex Stout quite happy. Archie is appropriately flippant and Wolfe nicely curmudgeonly and they seem to have a nice rapport as actors.

The plots are (as Stout's plots are) busy and crowded with characters and intrigue. But it was never for the plots that I read Rex Stout - it was for Archie and Wolfe, the people around them, and the scent of dated Manhattan that permeates the novels. And this series catches those people, and that atmosphere very well indeed. The series also has its own odd humour - not unlike the novels, but with more up-to-date sensibilities.

And Timothy Hutton's direction works very well - he's not so fond of himself that he is the only character on screen - he treats the cast well, giving each member their due. (But most especially Chaykin who, it must be said, is a Nero Wolfe par excellence.) This series gives us better looks at most of the actors, and especially their faces, than almost anything else on television. Much credit is also due to the cinematographer who makes this tv production take on the color values of the early technicolor, giving a nice period feel. And colors are everywhere - sometimes startlingly so.

The scenes are nicely paced and the images carefully framed. This probably sounds awfully technical - but when something is not done this well, I usually don't notice it - it just seems normal. But for some reason I've been noticing how these are put together and it looks very good indeed (and happily enough not intrusively so). I'm rather hoping Hutton uses this series to hone his skills as a director and goes on to do the same kind of thing on the big screen.

This is a quiet series with little action and mostly interior shots, but for fans of dialog and character and mysteries of various sorts, it must be highly recommended. For fans of Nero Wolfe, it is a must.